Arrows and Amorousness
by MercyPercy
Summary: Percy Jackson was only seven years old when he watched his mother die in front of him. Zoë Nightshade was exiled by her sisters after helping a selfish male hero. What do they have in common? They were both emotionally scarred, and they just might be able to make each other whole again. PerZoe! AU
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

Percy POV

I was tearing through the woods in Central Park, my seven-year-old feet trying to put as much distance between that horrible place, that _prison_ , as possible.

I could remember her screaming crystal clear, the rope burning her skin as my mother Sally Jackson, undoubtedly one of the kindest and most beautiful women in the world, was killed before my eyes.

 _Flashback_

 _I was walking down the hallway on our floor when I heard screaming coming from what seemed like our little apartment. I slowly broke out into a run, and skidding to a stop in front of our door._

 _I tried the handle, but it was locked, so I fumbled with my key a bit to try to get in there. Another round of screams came, this time slightly muffled, and I was sure that they were coming from our apartment._

 _I finally turned the lock and left the key in the door, rushing towards the terrified, pleading screams that were undoubtedly coming from my mother inside her bedroom. I dashed through the open door, and saw something that I would never forget for the rest of my life._

 _Sally Jackson, my mother was tied down to her bed, being raped by Gabe Ugliano, my stepfather. My mother was gagged, and had tear tracks streaming down her now bruised and cut face._

 _She caught sight of me and told me with her eyes, 'Run'._

 _I tried to get to her, to try to help her, but I wouldn't move an inch. Smelly Gabe, as I called him, caught sight of me and cackled with pleasure. He had a smile of satisfaction as he menacingly brought out his signature smoking lighter. My eyes widened as I saw the ropes that held my mother down were doused in some kind of liquid._

 _I ran up to Gabe and tried to push his sweaty body away from my mother, but he just chuckled and shoved me back towards the door. He gazed at me with eyes that danced with the spark of a madman as he held the lighter out to the ropes. They immediately caught fire and raced up and down my mother's once amazing body, and soon she stopped screaming with agony as she shuddered, and stilled._

 _I looked up from my lap that was painted with tears, and saw Gabe start towards me._

" _Sally was fun while she lasted," Gabe said, his speech completely normal and not slurred as usual. "But now I think that I will have a little fun with you."_

 _I looked up and saw red. I screamed with pure rage, and felt a huge pull in my gut as the entire pipe system exploded simultaneously. The water washed over Gabe, and formed into a shaky bubble around him._

 _My eyes widened as he clawed at the water, slowly was losing air, trying to swim out of the bubble, only to have it follow his every move. I felt the pull in my gut disappear, and the water fell onto the ground, leaving a naked, wet, and shaking Gabe gasping for air._

 _I took one step back , then another, and then I was sprinting as fast as I could out of the apartment, then the building, then found myself racing through trees in Central Park._

 _End of Flashback_

I blindly rushed through the forest, my eyes blurred from the tears that had not stopped flowing since my mother had been engulfed by flames. I slowed down until I collapsed onto a park bench, feeling like I was going to throw up. I swiveled my head from side to side, to see if Gabe had somehow followed me in his hideous bright purple '78 Camaro, a name that he had beat into me if I didn't say the right name.

But what I did see was a sight that made my blood run cold. Fifteen feet away, there was what looked like a huge dog with teeth like razors, and beady black eyes staring straight at me. It crouched down on all fours, preparing to attack me.

I immediately turn the other way and ran, hoping that I could outrun this - this _thing_ even in my tired state.

I was running down the path when I saw two people, a man and a woman, conversing about… archery? The man had blonde hair and was around 6'2 and was well toned, almost like a swimmer or archer. The woman had auburn hair and was short, probably 5'8. But what startled me the most was her constantly swirling silver eyes and his practically glowing blue eyes.

I was running at top speed, yelling to them, "RUN!" I tried pulling the man, who looked at me with a confused look on his face, while the woman pulled a bow _out of thin air_ and shot the dog, who had just rounded the path's turn, and I watched as the beast erupt into golden dust.

After the exhilaration of the chase, I collapsed, and the man caught me, laying me down into the soft grass. The man and the woman looked at each other, as if they were having a mental conversation, and they said one word to each other as my world faded into black: " _Half-Blood._ "


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

I slowly came to my senses as I heard people talking around me. I had learned to keep my mouth

shut around the strangers that Gabe invited over, because he would beat me for interrupting his poker games.

"... multiple ribs that were never set correctly, along with several scars along his abdomen and inner thighs, and a broken nose," said a male voice gravelly, "along with having that deep scar across his face, which you can obviously see wasn't inflicted too long ago."

"Does he have any serious brain trauma?" This time the voice belonged to a woman's, her voice filled with worry. There was a silence. "Apollo? Hello?" This time her voice was laced with annoyance. "Well, he's already awake. Why don't you ask him?" I could feel that the question was more directed towards me as I stopped faking and sat up groggily.

I looked around and saw that I was in a tent, but this tent was massive. The ceiling was at least twenty feet off of the ground, and the sloped walls were covered in different hides, ranging from a fox's pelt, to that of the dog that was chasing me before I passed out. I was laying in what was a _very_ comfortable bed, with sheets and pillows that shined a brilliant silver color. To the right of the bed, there was a table with an empty vial labeled 'NECTAR' in big bold letters. To the left of him, however, were the two people that he had seen at Central Park.

They sat there, looking at me expectantly. "Um… Hi?" I offered, dumbfounded at where I was and the events that had happened that had changed my life. I was usually much more mature than this, because of living with almost no money I tried to help my mom by taking odd jobs at a mere seven years old.

"Hello." The blonde man replied. "My name is Apollo, and her name is Artemis." The twelve-year-old girl waved at him, looking at him with a worried expression. "I'm Percy." I said feebly, and I suddenly had a million questions running through my head. "What was that thing that was chasing me? How did you pull that bow out of thin air? Why did it explode when you shot it?" Apollo looked at me with a humorous glint in his eyes, as he started explaining. "Well, have you ever heard of the Greek gods?"

"Yes, we just finished learning about them in school, but I don't see what that has to do with…" I trailed off as I pieced the clues together. My eyes widened as I realised that I was in the presence of two Olympian Gods. I sat staring at them both.

"So, you're the god of the sun, right?" I asked Apollo, who smiled in return, and started listing off all of the other things he was deity of. I turned to Artemis and asked, "And you're the goddess of the moon and the hunt." She gave a curt nod.

Apollo went on to explain about how there was a whole other world, one filled with the gods and monsters from Ancient Greece, and based on his eyes, his father was most likely Poseidon, god of the seas, earthquakes, and storms, although he was shocked that his uncle broke his vow.

"Wait, so you're saying that if I _am_ a son of Poseidon, then I have some form of power over the Big Three's powers?" He asked, still processing this new information. Apollo looked thoughtful, and said, "Well, I guess if you were, then yes, you could _maybe_ have some of the Big Three's powers."

"Also, how did you know I was a demigod?" He continued with his barrage of questions. This time, Artemis answered, "We felt the power rolling off of you in waves, and knew that you were someone powerful."

There was a silence that followed. "Anyways, where is your mom?" He inquired. I immediately felt tears come to my eyes, and I looked away and tried not to let the drops escape my eyes, but it was no use. "M-my stepdad… he r-r-raped her and killed her in front of me. I tried to help, but I couldn't do anything, so I watched him kill her. He said he was going to hurt me, so I got mad, and then the water pipes exploded."

" It surrounded him in a bubble of water, and he almost drowned before it all fell. I was scared, so I ran, before he beat me any more." I rasped in between sobs as the tears streaked down my face.

I looked up and saw Apollo saddened, and saw an infuriated Artemis. They both looked at me sadly, and I buried my face into my hands and wallowed in my grief. I felt two pairs of arms wrapped around me and I cried into one of their shoulders.

While I was crying, I realised something: I didn't hurt at all, well, at least not externally. My ribs, my nose, nothing. All the beatings from Gabe felt like they had vanished. "Apollo? Did you heal everything?" I asked curiously. "Yeah, I kinda thought you would like that." He said, trying to lighten the mood.

I settled into Artemis, who had sat down next to me and began stroking my hair. I felt my eyes grow heavy, and decided not to fight the sleepiness and I dazed off.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

As I came to my senses, I instantly knew that something was different about my surroundings. I cautiously opened one eye and was realized that I was in a different room.

The sloped walls of this room, unlike Artemis' with her skins and fur, were barren, although they were still silver. There were no personal decorations in sight, so I assumed that this was a guest room of sorts. Our guest room back in the apartment was turned into Gabe's poker room, and it constantly made me want to vomit from the stench of cigars and beer.

The very thought of anything to do with Smelly Gabe made me sick, so I pushed the thought of the room's appearance to the back of my brain. I slowly swung my feet off the left side of the bed and rubbed my eyes tiredly.

I looked to my left and found folded clothes that looked like they fit me well. There was a silverish long-sleeve pullover with a grey shirt to go underneath it, along with some baggy black cargo shorts.

I tried them on, and to be honest, I kind of liked them. A lot. Apollo must have chosen them for me, and he must have somehow known about me wanting this pullover, because I had always stared at it through windows but ultimately never had enough money to buy it.

I remembered Apollo and Artemis explaining where I was: I was with Artemis' immortal band of hunters, and were in their makeshift camp for however long I was out. I was still in Central Park, but a godly effect called The Mist distorted the way that mortals saw otherworldly things, such as Greek monsters and camps of girls in the middle of a park.

I stepped outside my tent and was amazed at what I saw. To my left, there were girls in silver clothing shooting at targets, each one of the arrows hitting or narrowly missing the bull's-eye. There was also a pen of wolves, some still sleeping while others were gnawing on leftover bones from what I guessed was their breakfast. To my right, there were at least fifty tents, signifying how large the Hunt actually was. There was a lake not far from the tents, where the hunters probably bathe and wash their clothes. I knew there was a lake because I had always felt whenever water was near, but never bothered to tell anybody about it, brushing it off as something unimportant. Directly ahead of me, there were five or six picnic tables lined up below a tented roof, with a spit near it. I guessed that it was the dining 'pavilion'.

"What are you doing here, _boy_?" A cold voice snapped at me, causing me to jump out of my musings about the camp. I turned around to see the tip of an arrow pointed at me from about three feet away.

The owner of said bow was, to put it simply, beautiful. The huntress had volcanic black eyes and copper skin, without a flaw on it. She had flowing black hair in a braid done down her back, and donned a silver tiara, almost like a princess. She had a silver blouse and a silver skirt on, which probably would have made her seem harmless, until she pulled out the twin hunting knives from their sheathes at her belt.

I immediately put my hands in the air, not daring to say a word, unless I wanted to lose my life. "I said, what are you doing here?" She sneered at me. I was starting to get very mad at her very quickly, because bow or not, I wasn't going to let her, or anyone else for that matter, treat me like Gabe did.

I kept my cool, and said, "I am here because Lord Apollo and Lady Artemis brought me here. I am sure that she will vouch for me if you would take the time to go and find her." I said this calmly, not letting my gaze waver from her obsidian eyes. She looked surprised, before her eyes hardened as she spit, "Do not leave that tent until Lady Artemis and I get back. She turned her back on me and stormed off, presumably to go find the goddess and try to get him in trouble.

In order to not antagonize anything else, I sighed, and flopped back down on the bed in the tent. My eyes shifted to the nightstand, and saw an alarm clock that said 9:35, and a glass of water that I had previously missed. A smile spread across my face as I soon got an idea, to prove if I really was a son of the sea god.

I picked up the glass and put it on the floor. I concentrated on it, trying to will it to move. A bead of sweat trickled down my forehead, and still, there was no movement. I tried thinking about what I was thinking when I did it to Gabe. The memories came flooding back, as I remembered being helpless as I watched my mother get beat, knowing that I was next for the torture. I was infuriated when I watched as my mother died in front of me.

Suddenly, I felt a wrench in my gut, just like in the apartment, as the water shot out of the glass, and hovered in midair. I watched, fascinated, as I tried moving it around the room. The droplets complied, as the pull increased slightly. The water whizzed around the room, going as fast as I could get it to.

I willed it towards the entrance to the tent, and turned to see it collide into everybody's favorite hunter's face. I burst out laughing as the water slowly ran down her enraged face. The still nameless hunter was about to charge at me when a hand appeared on her shoulder.

Artemis looked at me with disappointment and a little bit of mirth as she whispered soothing words into the fuming hunter's ear. She eventually calmed down and left the tent, still muttering curses most likely directed at me.

The moon goddess turned and looked at me with an expectant look, and said, "Well, it looks like you have successfully made my lieutenant hate you within thirty minutes of you being awake, and I have found out who your godly parent is."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I looked up at Artemis. "You know who my godly parent is?" I said, my voice laced with sarcasm. "I wonder how you discovered that?"

Artemis just rolled her eyes, before her gaze turned serious. "Perseus, what did you do to infuriate my lieutenant _that_ badly? I haven't seen her that mad in years." Artemis asked curiously.

My face darkened, and I stated, "She asked me what I was doing in the camp, called me a boy, the same way that Gabe used to. I just told her to go find you or Apollo to confirm that you brought me here."

"She doesn't like to have people give her answers that she can't fight, especially from males. She has had bad experiences with males before she joined the hunt, and she has every right to be wary around males." Artemis said defensively, even though I hadn't done anything wrong.

I decided to change the topic off of the lieutenant. "Why didn't you tell the hunters that I was here?" I asked.

"I felt that your story was not mine to share, and I was hoping that you could tell them it during dinner tonight." Artemis replied. I smiled, feeling that it was a perfectly good reason to keep her hunters in the dark.

I suddenly had a thought. "So, Lady Artemis, I was wondering…" I said, as her eyes looked at me, like they were torn between a decision. "Maybe I could stay with the hunt and become a hunter, with your permission? I don't have any family since my mom-" I was interrupted by a _very_ happy Artemis, who said, "Of course! I was about to ask that myself, but I didn't know if you would say yes."

I looked at her, starstruck. "Thank you, Lady Artemis." I said, and went into a deep bow, forgetting that I was talking to an _Olympian Goddess_ , and a man-hating one at that.

She waved her hand at me dismissively. "Oh, you don't need to bow to me, or use any of those stupid names. I don't care about respect from those in my hunt." I looked up, surprised that she had already said I was one of her hunters. "I will give you my hunter's blessing, which makes you immortal, unless you fall in combat. It will also allow you to stop and start aging whenever you want, up until you are, or look, eighteen." She had a gleam in her eyes as she happily said this.

"Please call me Percy, Artemis. It's what my mother always called me, and I hate being called my real name." As I told her my worst pet peeve, Apollo walked in with a beaming smile.

"Hey, Perce, I gotta ask you something," The sun god said, his confidence wavering a bit, along with his smile. "Would you, maybe, um, like my blessing?"

I looked at him in awe. "Does that mean I will be as cool and as awesome as you?" I asked, a huge grin stretching across my face. He smiled back, saying, "Yeah, that's one of the side effects, along with being able to shoot an arrow like a pro, such as myself," he said, flexing his muscles, "along with being able to control sunlight to a point, and be a natural healer." I laughed, delighted that I was someone that Apollo cared about.

"Well then, what are you waiting for, I want to be AWESOME!" I yelled excitedly, as he stuck his hand out at me, and I was engulfed in a bright yellow light, as I felt power surging through me. This didn't hurt, and soon, the light disappeared, leaving me standing there.

The twin archers both looked at me, as Apollo summoned a mirror and shoved it at me. I looked into it and was shocked to see that my raven black hair now had a small blonde patch at the front, and my eyes were still sea green, but now had flecks of blue that reflected the sun whenever it hit them.

Apollo broke the silence by screaming, "You look AWESOME!" I noticed that he tried to stick to the words 'cool' and 'awesome' a lot. Artemis looked at me proudly, and she turned and told Apollo that I was indeed a Son of Poseidon.

"Why couldn't you guys tell that I was the son of Poseidon when I first saw you guys? You said demigods give off a certain aura, and that's why the hellhound was attracted to me." I asked, the question popping out of my mouth as soon as I thought of it.

Artemis replied with, "Well, you had a scent masking you that smelled like a dirty, fat man, to be honest. We couldn't tell who you were until you got very close, and even now, we cannot tell who your godly parent is from your aura."

My eyes widened, as Apollo seemingly read my thoughts as he said, "That might have been why your mother stayed with that filthy, disgusting _pig_ of a man. To hide you from the monsters that might hunt you." I felt my eyes well up with tears, but I forced them down.

"Anyways, Perce, I have to get going, godly duties and whatnot. I can be back here same time tomorrow to help you with your powers, if you want?" He asked. I shook my head yes, while he smiled and walked out of the tent.

"Well Percy, I have to go also. I advise that you stay here until dinner to avoid any unnecessary casualties." Artemis said with a smile, and also walked out of the tent, leaving me in the blank tent, alone.

Suddenly, there was a flash of light behind me, and I turned around to see a man around forty, with black hair and a black beard, along with cargo shorts and a loud hawaiian t-shirt. He had sparkling sea green eyes, just like mine.

"Hello, son. It's been a long time."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

I stared at my father, completely speechless, as my mind went blank. All of the questions that had rolled in my head when I imagined meeting him were gone.

Poseidon stood there, probably wondering why I was staring at him blankly. "Hello? Perseus? Do you know who I am?" He asked, with a look of curiosity and worry crossing his face.

"Yes. I know exactly who you are." I responded coldly, suddenly getting _very_ angry with him as he flinched from my voice. "You are Poseidon, the Greek god of the seas, the Earth-Shaker, the Storm-Bringer, and a deadbeat dad." I finished, venom clear in my voice.

He looked shocked that his son had spoken to him in that way. "Percy, I am truly, deeply sorry that I could not be there for you, but there are certain laws that keep me from you." He responded, hurt in his eyes after my verbal blow.

"Why couldn't you be there at least once? Why couldn't you be there when Gabe was beating Mom and I?" I said with tears in my eyes as my voice dropped to a whisper and I looked down.

"Why couldn't you be there before Mom died?" I said, barely audibly. Poseidon's eyes flashed with hurt, before he walked up to me and wrapped his arms around me, as he said, "It may not seem like it, but your mother was by far the best mortal women that I have ever met. My brother, Zeus, had to knock me out because I was about to go and stop that filthy, terrible excuse for a man."

I slowly wrapped my arms around him. "I'm sorry that I jumped to conclusions, but I always assumed that you left from your own free will, and Mom never talked about you." I said, looking up to him as tears were threatening to spill down my face.

He looked down at me, smiling. "It is alright, my boy. I came here to give you a present, along with giving you a few pointers on your water powers. First off, you have to think about any emotion that is strong to you, but eventually it will require less effort and you will be able to do it without any concentration."

"Thank you… Dad." I said, grinning from ear to ear. I stopped as he pulled something out of his pocket. He offered his hand to me, and I looked to see… a pen.

I stared at him in confusion. "Um… what does this do?" My father laughed wholeheartedly.

"Just uncap it, and don't point it towards me." He said, still chuckling. I took the cap off, and jumped when it grew heavier and longer. In half a second, I held a shimmering bronze sword with a double-edged blade, a leather-wrapped grip, and a flat hilt riveted with gold studs that fit into my hand perfectly.

I stared at the sword in shock, before a big crash of lightning startled me out of my staring. My father rolled his eyes, and told me, "I have to go. My brother is throwing a fit because I am talking to you." He gave me one last hug and told me to avert my eyes as he flashed away.

I turned my gaze to my capped pen, and uncapped it. I read the side of the blade. _Anaklusmos_ , or Riptide, as my father had said. I experimentally swung the weapon a few times, and it felt perfect, almost as if it was crafted for me.

 **LINEAR FISSURE**

I paced inside my tent, nervously awaiting what was to come. I hadn't been out of my room since I got yelled at by the lieutenant, and I was busy working with my water powers, which had improved slightly.

Finally, Artemis walked into the tent. "Are you ready? I have told the hunters that they have a… visitor. They may treat you coldly at first, but they will eventually accept you." She said this with certainty, as if she didn't know that her hunters were _man-haters_.

I shifted my weight from foot to foot. "Promise me that they will stay quiet and not be prejudiced, and I will happily talk to them." I said, not wanting to be reminded and more of Gabe tonight.

The moon goddess looked at me like I was asking her to do something impossible. She shook her head yes, and walked out of the tent, motioning for me to follow. I complied, as she turned to the picnic tables, where twenty-something hunters loaded there bows in unison.

Artemis jumped in front of me, and said, " _No shooting!_ This boy has been through the terrible things that you all have, and worse! He can explain these things, and you _will_ listen to him!"

The entire hunt had a strange look on their faces, like a mix between shock and anger, before they all took their seats obediently, except for one. The lieutenant stayed standing, with her bow still in her hand, staring at her mistress. "My lady, why have you brought a boy into camp _willingly?_ All they do is hurt women!" She said in a confused and angry tone.

"This boy is different, Zoё. He has suffered far more than anyone, male or female, should in a _lifetime,_ and he is only _seven!_ " Artemis stated, her voice a sign of her barely contained rage. Zoё recoiled from the moon goddess, obviously shocked that she was defending a mere _male_ with this much ferocity,

Artemis motioned for me to start speaking. I cleared my throat, and tried to speak, but my voice failed me. I tried again, and still, I was frozen. I turned to Artemis, and pointed to my head, hoping that she would understand.

She nodded, and she waved her hand as I saw a blank image pop up in front of the picnic tables, in view of everybody. On it displayed one of my most prominent memories: the first time Gabe had beat me.

 _Gabe came home in a bad mood, as always, but usually, he would grab a beer and drink himself to sleep. This time however, he walked straight into my room, a look of absolute rage plastered on his face._

" _What do you want?" A six year old me asked. For an answer, he backhanded me and sent me sprawling over my bed. I raised a hand to my stinging cheek, and could feel a little bit of blood coming from the cut from his ring._ The hunters gasped loudly at this.

 _I looked at him as he sent his fist flying into my stomach, which resulted in me howling in pain. He picked me up and threw me against the wall, knocking the wind out of me. He then kicked me while I was down, and seemed to relish in the loud crack from my ribs as they gave way._ Some of the hunters at this point were looking away from the screen, and more joined them as the beating went on.

 _He continuously beat me until I fell into unconsciousness, and this was not the last beating that I would take from Gabe Ugliano._

The floating screen showed many more images, from beatings inflicted on me, to my mother, until Artemis got to the last memory of Gabe Ugliano. Some hunters were softly crying and giving me pitiful looks. My eyes started to get teary when I saw the final memory, and tears started running down my cheeks as I saw Gabe torture her, then kill her in cold blood.

Suddenly, the memories disappeared, and everybody turned to the moon goddess, who had tears in her eyes also. She cleared her throat, and said, "I think it is quite clear that Percy here is… deserving of our trust and sympathies. Since he has nowhere else to go, he will become an official part of the hunt. Any objections?"

Silence.

Artemis turned to me. She started chanting in what I could only guess was Ancient Greek, and soon I was glowing, like with Apollo, but instead of a golden light, I shone bright silver. Soon, the light faded, and I felt more agile and fit, like I could run twenty miles without breaking a sweat.

"Welcome, Perseus Jackson, to the Hunt."


End file.
